The present invention relates to apparatus for mechanically peeling shrimps and similar crustaceans, which apparatus comprises support means defining a shrimp supporting surface, cutting means projecting from said supporting surface and means located opposite said supporting surface for advancing a shrimp along said surface and at the same time press the shrimp towards the supporting surface and the cutting means projecting from that surface.
An apparatus of this kind is disclosed in the specification of U.S. Pat. No. 3,084,379 issued Apr. 9, 1963, to W. Henning. In this known apparatus the lateral surface of the shrimp is pressed against a flat supporting surface by means of a rotating roller having a resilient covering, and the cutting means comprises a cylindrical milling cutter rotating on an axis parallel to the axis of the pressing roller in order to peel the shell off the shrimp on the flattened side thereof. While this apparatus may be suitable for peeling deepwater prawn (Pandalus borealis) it will hardly be able to peel the so-called brown or common shrimp (Crangon crangon or Crangon vulgaris) in a satisfactory way, primarily because the shell of Crangon crangon is very hard and smooth or slippery as compared with Pandalus borealis, and its edible meat has a markedly "rubber-like" character.
The aforesaid U.S. patent specification also describes an apparatus in which the pressure roller is mounted opposite a cutting roller consisting of circular cutters alternating with spacer discs which latter act as a substitute for the flat supporting surface of the first discussed apparatus. The cutters effect a series of parallel cuts through the shell and when the shell has been cut on both sides the shrimp is dried by alternate heating and cooling whereby the shell is loosened from the meat. The drying of the shrimp influences the quality and the taste of the meat in an unfavourable manner.